What do you feed your dog?

Simon is almost 15wks and the poor boy has had diarea(SP) for almost the whole time we have had him(8wks). We have changed his food slowly from Puppy Chow to Puppy Lamb and Rice. We have had him on hamburger and rice a few times to see if this clears up the problem and its worked minimumly. My thought is we need to change his food.. but to what?

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We have had Barkley on Purina Veterinary Pediatric formula since we brought him home (that's what he ate at the breeder's house), and he's never had the runs - thank goodness!

I would advise that you either talk with your breeder or your vet and see what they think you should do.

I think some users on the forum had success in feeding whole food like human-grade rice, meat, veggies for awhile before slowly re-introducing dry kibble. That may work for you, but to ensure your puppy is getting good nutrition at this important growing time, your vet should be able to recommend what to feed your pup and how much and also what kibble might not upset his tummy.

Good luck!

Lamb might be too rich for your puppy.

We had good luck with Nutro for several years and I always switched it up each time I bought it alternating between chicken and beef.

Because Hannah had a recent bout with pancreatitus, long story, not Nutro related, just a long list of factors including surgery & ear yeast infection (cortisone is bad for pancreas) & shots and bad mommy(gave garlic bread) that sent her immune system on overload.

The "bland diet recommended by vet which we slowly transitioned to. Turkey and/or chicken raw or cooked as little as possible. As much veggies as they want. Kibble and canned"Natures Recipe". We are also using Canusa with no wheat which they seem to love and doesn't have all the bad preservatives, etc. They also love plain rice cake pieces as treats when they go to the bathroom. I think it helps settle their stomach.

There are tons of posts regarding feeding. So you should be able to get lots of good advice.

Good luck! & Welcome.

Simon has been to the vet and checked for parasites, etc, right?! I'm a little jumpy on this subject as my own boy just got giardia this past week - giving him bad diarrhea.

As far as food goes, I would stick with one thing consistently for quite a while before attempting to switch again. If nothing is wrong with him internally than try a little bit of instant mashed potato flakes on top of his food or a little bit of canned pumpkin. The extra fiber in these can help to tighten up his system. Whatever you do make sure to do it slowly and consult your vet first. It's trying times when babies aren't pooping right!

My collie is 3 now. I have been though every dog food I could find including a prescription dog food from the vet. She had diarea for the first 9 months of her life. Today she is still under weight by about 10 pounds. She only eats Natural Choice it is the only food that she does not get sick from. I only feed her their cookies too and other food including plain beef and rice gets her sick. She has been through every vet test there is for this but they can't find anything wrong with her. Because she is so under weight the vet has me give her the puppy Natural Choice about once a week. He said the dog food is very good and easy on their system.

I talked to the breeder and she used the holistic dog food. The day I brought her home she had diarea but I thought it was such a long car ride. Little did I know. When I tell you I have been through about 30 brands I am not kidding. Phoebe eats that too along with anything else you give her she is a counter surfer. I also have a 3 yr old grand son who likes to share his food with Phoebe. If any gets any of it even the smallest amount she starts with the diarea.

Maybe your just has a easily upset system. You may want to try this one.

Here is Annie it's hard to tell from this picture how thin she is but believe me she is skinny

First off, puppy chow is not a very good food... but I don't think that's the problem. I think your puppy has worms and /or coccidia and /or giardia.
I'd get the pup to the vet asap as having diarreah that long is very detrimental to his health.

Good luck!

Willowsprite wrote:

First off, puppy chow is not a very good food...

Just clarifying that Stacey means PURINA puppy chow, not regular puppy chow/food.

And I second the opinion about getting your pup to the vet right away to find out the cause. This is not normal, even if you're feeding PURINA puppy chow.

Counter surfing could be contributing to the diarrhea.

Annie's a beautiful dog. Do you find her very similar in temperment to OES?

We're having issues with the puppies, too. Have changed food, but still have issues with intermittent diarrhea, usually Sherman. One contributing factor is the fact that he's a genius at finding disgusting things hiding in leaves when we walk. He's good at dropping it, if I catch him in time.

This is a real dilemma. If he walks behind me (as is proper, by some schools of thought), it's harder to know exactly when he scarfs something up. If he walks ahead of me, I can more easily monitor him, but then I have the other two dogs wanting to walk ahead of me, too, especially "I rule the world" Miss Sophie. Working on it. But I live in a neighborhood with many houses that serve as apartments to college aged kids, some of whom are really not mature enough to live on their own. Hence the disgusting stuff hidden in leaves. Ah, well. Sorry to get off track.

Willowsprite wrote:

I think your puppy has worms and /or coccidia and /or giardia.
I'd get the pup to the vet asap as having diarreah that long is very detrimental to his health.

I think if you look through other threads in health and nutrition on this site you'll see that certain people say this every time any dog has diarrhea, the sniffles, or an abnormally large eye booger. My dog eats NaturalLife Puppy Lamaderm. It's for sensitive stomachs and dogs with allergies. It's from Wal-Mart (oh NOES!!!, good dog owners can't POSSIBLY shop there!)

Obviously you should ask the vet to test if he finds it necessary, but please don't let the Chicken Littles scare you to death.

Hey, I didn't know food could cause giant eye boogers! EWWWWW! :lol:

I think people are just trying to be helpful, and food advice may be one of those things that tends to get a little personal... after all, everyone believes they're giving their dog the best food, or at least the best that they can afford. So, I'm not sure it's fair to call someone a Chicken Little over the issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Willowsprite wrote:

I think your puppy has worms and /or coccidia and /or giardia.
I'd get the pup to the vet asap as having diarreah that long is very detrimental to his health.

Lol. Diarrhea for 8 weeks is NEVER good for any species. If I had it for 8 days, I'd be scared!

Annie never counter surf's She is the QUEEN and act's like it. She is extremely picky about food. We call her Anorexia Annie because she looks so thin sometimes especially in the summer months, she hates the hot weather.

Her temperment is nothing like Phoebe. She is quiet, not bouncy, extremely easy going, not stubborn, very fast at running, does not stop to smell the roses but she is no where as lovable as Phoebe. Annie is more like the cuddle type. Phoebe is on my lap type licking away and wanting to be with you all the time. I love them both dearly. I have always had a collie and a St. Bernard both extremely quiet dogs. I have to say I love the out going attitude of a OES and would most likely always have one. I will tell you they are a lot easier to take care of than a St. Bernard no drool on walls, ceilings, floors. I even think the grooming is easier and not so much hair flying all over the house as long as I brush her daily it's not been a big problem.

Once I found the Natural Choice Puppy food stopped the diarea I stuck with that brand. If I give annie a Milk Bone she will have a very loose movement when she goes. So I stick with the Natural Choice Cookies. I think she knows it too she usually turns her nose up on anythink else now.

As everyone has commented stick with a good puppy and dog food. The cost of a good food is nothing compared to health problems. Keep trying good foods until you find the one that works. If the puppy has no health problems and have been completely checked out by the vet, it may only be a food thing.

My mistake re: counter surfing. I misunderstood that Annie was the one who liked to counter surf. I love my OES, too. They're sooooo sweet, and goofy, and also truly do like to have a job and be a part of the family. THey have such distinct personalities.

I agree that there is a tremendous variety in terms of quality of dog food and also that some dogs are able to tolerate some kinds more than other kinds, including a variety of different quality of food. It can be tricky finding what works for your dog--and your budget, sometimes. But finding something that works well is worth a higher price tag, compared with meds and vet visits, if it turns out that more expensive is the only thing that works well for your dog.

My first OES once ate 16 foil wrapped chocolate candy bars (of the fundraiser variety). We had no idea he could get to them and he was alone in the house for a couple of hours. Quick phone call to the vet assured us that the biggest problem to be concerned about for him was the wrappers, which fortunately, passed without any difficulty, if in a very noticeable and sparkly manner. Same dog required only one specific kind of dog food, or else he'd get colitis. Go figure. Chocolate and foil wrappers were no problem, but anything other than a specific type of Science Diet and we'd have problems.

PURINA is the equivalent to McDonald's for dogs. As it IAMS, Eukanuba, Pedigree, etc. etc.

What do you people recommend for a dog food? I have heard the PetsMart brand is great.

Chipper eats the Nutro Chicken, Rice and Oatmeal dry kibble- it is for sensitive stomachs and he does great on it!

Good luck!

I use Authority Lamb & Rice, Petsmarts Brand and it is a very good food.
Also the only one that doesn't give Pepsi gas or worse.

I feed my 3 ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Formula. Anything out of the ordinary and my dogs have the poops, they never get people food other than occasionally a piece of cheese. The ProPlan is salmon based. My dogs dont eat as much as before because it has more good ingredients than what I had been using. Avalon who seems to have a gas problem (when ever she sits you hear PFFT) doesnt have as much gas with this new formula. :pupeyes:

I feed all my dog on PURINA lamb and rise :lol:

We feed Flint River dog food which was recommended by a good friend and former beeder (she now keeps Aussies).

http://www.frrco.com/

The food is about $45 for 40lbs, made from all human grade ingredients with no hormones, baked instead of extruded like most foods, and shipping direct to your home is free.

We started out feeding Edgar on the Costco brand food but we like this stuff much better. It even smells good.

crustybirds wrote:

I just ordered some. I've heard nothing but good about it.

We have to feed Frank a special prescription diet for his Irritable Bowel Disease. It's called Purina HA & is specially formulated for the nutrients to get absorbed better in his intestine. The cost is $70 for a 35 LB bag so I'm hoping that he's going to live a long & healthy life because of how expensive his food is. Our other dogs are on Nutro.

Our other track record for dog foods: Our last OES was on Science Diet his whole life & lived to age 13 and our mutt growing up was fed Ken-L-Ration (crappy food) and lived to 14!

Definitely feel that some foods are better than others, but I would just recommend monitoring how your dog does on a food, dry skin & what not and make choices accordingly.

It is ALWAYS recommended to make sure your puppy is on a quality PUPPY food to ensure it is getting the nutrients needed.

Jasper ate Nutro Ultra. Brees is on puppy chow right now, because that's what they used at the shelter. I'm trying to figure out which puppy food I want to put her on before we switch her over. Any suggestions?

I feed Laika Innova dry food for puppy. I changed to it after the grading of pet food and it was one of the highest ranked.

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d= ... 1259%27%5D

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